Instantaneous Reaction
by Captain Trouillefou
Summary: This is an AU fanfic where Edward Elric and Roy Mustang are students in high school. Roy is a senior, while Edward is a sophomore. Roy is the school bully, and Edward becomes his new victim. The tension between them is obvious, but why is it there? Maybe they both have secrets that they don't want anyone to know about...
1. Chapter 1

Edward Elric was not happy to be going to a new school. Over the summer, the family he and his little brother Alphonse lived with-the Rockbells-decided to move into the city, so, instead of starting his Sophomore year at Resembool High where all of his friends were, he had to start it at Central Academy, which sounded much fancier than it actually was. The school was at least twice as big as his former one, and had more teachers that probably didn't give a damn about their students.

Ed had gotten a map of the school when Pinako Rockbell took him to get registered at the school, and he spent the last week committing it to memory, because he didn't want to get lost on the first day of school. _'I should have just gotten home-schooled with Al and Winry...' _Ed thought to himself as he walked up the concrete stairs to the big, brick building. When they moved, Pinako gave the three of them the choice between being home-schooled or going to public school, and Edward chose the latter while the other two took the former. The only reason he chose not to be home-schooled was because he had heard that Central Academy rated highest in science scores in the nation, and Edward always had a love for science.

The school was pretty packed with students already, and Edward was having a hard time walking through the hallways without bumping into people. None of the other students seemed to care much about the contact, but Edward had always been insecure since his "accident," which caused him to have to have his right arm and left leg amputated...but he didn't really want to think about that right now. Right now, all he wanted to do was focus on the light-blue, metal lockers until he found his own. It didn't take him very long to locate locker 111, and he was quite relieved to see that it wasn't as dented as some of the other lockers.

After opening his locker, Edward took his books out of his backpack and organized them according to when he would have to use them, and he hung his backpack on one of the hooks in the locker. Edward had memorized his schedule as well as the map of the school, but he still checked it to make sure he was grabbing the correct book. First class he had was English with Mr. Falman. Edward grabbed his English book, as well as his binder, shut his locker, and turned to head to his class, which was only a few halls to the left, if he wasn't mistaken.

In his hurry to get to is first class of the day, Edward wasn't paying much attention, and he ended up running directly into someone that was much bigger and taller than he was, causing him to fall to the linoleum floor with a light thud, and his book and binder to fly out of his hands. "Hey, watch where you're going, twerp!" the boy Edward ran into spat, sounding angry.

Edward looked up and started to apologize, but stopped suddenly after seeing the boy. He had raven-black hair and eyes to match, he was tall and well-built, and he had very handsome features, though Edward assumed the guy would be much more attractive if he didn't look so pissed. "I-I'm s-sorry-" Ed began to stutter out, but the guy cut him off.

"Whatever, are you lost or something, Shrimp?" The guy said quite rudely.

Edward felt his face get hot, and he really wanted to yell at this guy for basically calling him short, but he held his temper. "N-no, I was just g-getting to c-class-" Edward stumbled over his words as he began to collect his fallen items.

"W-well I g-guess you b-better be off then, Loser," the guy mocked, smacking Edwards books out of his hand not a second after he had picked them up. "Welcome to Central Academy, pipsqueak," the guy said as he walked away, kicking Edward's book away from him before he could grab it. The guy chuckled to himself as he left, leaving Edward to pick up his stuff quickly so he could get to his first class before the bell rang.

Edward Elric had just encountered his first bully. Edward wondered what he could have possibly done to provoke the guy, hell, he didn't even know his name, and running into him had been a complete accident that he had apologized for. He also wondered how someone so attractive could be such a bastard... Edward shook the thought from his head and hurried off to class. It took him a little longer than he had anticipated, because he was still a little fuddled over the conflict with a complete stranger (something that never happened in Resembool, mind you), but he was able to make it to the classroom before the tardy bell rang, which was a relief; Ed didn't want to be late for his first class on the first day of school. That would just make his teacher think he was a slacker or something, and Edward Elric wasn't a slacker when it came to academics. Edward took the only empty seat in the class, which was near the back next to the window.

"You alright? You look a little shaken up."

Edward looked to his right to the desk that was next to him. In the desk was a boy that couldn't have been much older than him. The boy had long, black hair that he kept in a ponytail, squinted eyes and a welcoming smile. Edward smiled at him. "Yeah, I'm fine, just had a run-in with someone that wasn't very nice, is all. I'm Edward," he introduced himself, holding out his slightly shaky left hand for the boy to shake.

The guy next to him took his hand and shook it briefly. "Ling. Nice to meet ya, Ed, can I call you Ed?"

"Sure," Edward said, glad that he was making a friend already.

"That person you ran into, he didn't have really dark hair and eyes by any chance, did he?" Ling asked.

Edward blinked. "Uh, yeah, he did. Why?" Edward asked.

Ling sighed. "Thought so. That's Roy Mustang. He's a senior, and pretty much an asshole to everyone. If he's already picked on you though, I fear the worst for you, Ed. He picks on everyone, but every year he chooses one person to really mess with throughout the whole year. I don't know how you got on his bad side, but I think you should try to avoid him as much as possible."

Edward groaned. Great, just what he needed. "I accidentally bumped into the guy. I even said sorry."

"Well that was your first mistake." Edward looked at Ling with a confused expression until Ling explained. "You apologized. Mustang sees that as some stupid sign of weakness, or whatever, so he knows you'll be easier to pick on. Maybe if you show him that you don't take any shit, he will leave you alone."

"I hope so," Edward said, though he honestly wasn't sure how he would show this Roy guy that he wasn't going to take any shit from him, when Edward didn't even know that bullies were a real thing until just today. At that moment, the last bell rang, and the teacher started the class.

The first class was easy; they just went over the syllabus and Mr. Falman passed out the first book that they would be reading this school year, which was Romeo and Juliet (which Edward found to be totally overrated, but it was a good story nonetheless). They were given instructions to read the first ten pages by tomorrow, and Mr. Falman spent the rest of the class answering any questions that anyone had. While that was going on, Edward zoned out, wondering what he could possibly do about his new problem. Bullies were bullies for a reason, right? Most people weren't assholes just for the sake of being an asshole, there was usually much more to it. If Edward could figure out exactly _why _Roy was a bully, then maybe he could find a way to get Roy to stop. It was a long shot, but maybe it could work...maybe...


	2. Chapter 2

"So, what class do you have next, Ed?" Ling asked as they gathered their things after the bell rang, signaling the end of class.

Edward scanned over his schedule, though he already knew the answer to Ling's question, he just didn't want to seem like a complete nerd. "I have Health with Mr. Tucker," he answered, shoving his schedule back into his pocket.

Ling made a face. "That sucks. Mr. Tucker is kind of a creep. They wanted to make Mr. Marcoh the Health teacher, but he said that he would be better suited for the Health Center, and that's true, but still. Mr. Tucker is just weird." Great, that made Edward feel a whole lot better. Ling saw the look of distress on Edward's face, so he clapped a hand on his back, "Don't worry about it, man. He's not as bad as I made him seem. Come on, my next class is right next to yours. I'll walk you there. Mustang is less likely to bully you if you're with someone else."

Edward grinned at his new friend, "Thanks, Ling," he said, walking close to him. He kept an eye out for the tall, dark-haired senior. Even if he was with Ling, there still might be a chance that Roy would want to pick on him, and Ed didn't want to have Ling be on Roy's bad list just because Ling was hanging out with him. The two made it to Edward's next class, and they parted ways after making plans to sit with each other at lunch. Edward took a deep breath, and entered the classroom.

Most of the other students waited in the halls until the last minute, so the only other person in the classroom was who Edward assumed was Mr. Tucker. The sound of the door opening and closing caught Mr. Tucker's attention, and he looked up from his lesson plan to Edward, and smiled. Already, Edward felt kind of creeped out, but would he if Ling had never said anything? Edward tentatively smiled back. "Hello, you're here a bit early, aren't you?" Mr. Tucker said. His voice sounded kind enough, but something about it was unnerving.

"Uh, yeah, well, I don't like to waste time...where should I sit?" He asked. In his old school, all of the teachers put up seating charts and gave everyone assigned seats, but none of the teachers here seemed to care much.

"You can sit where ever you like, not many of the teachers here set up a seating chart," Mr. Tucker said, confirming Edward's thoughts about the teachers at this school. Edward nodded and sat in a seat near the back. There weren't any windows in this classroom, which kind of bugged Edward. A window would give him something to distract himself with, but instead all there was to look at were ugly, plain, grey walls. It was actually kind of depressing. Ed was just glad that Mr. Tucker did not continue to talk to him, though every now and then he would catch the teacher looking at him from behind his glasses, which was, as Ling said, creepy.

After a few minutes, students slowly started trickling into the classroom, filling the other seats at random. Most of them had friends to sit with, and avoided Edward as much as they possibly could. Guess there was just something weird about a kid sitting all alone in the back of the room. Edward noticed that this class wasn't strictly kids in his grade, because some of the students seemed younger, or older than him. That fact made him panic slightly; what if there were other classes like this? That meant there was a chance that Edward could have a class with Roy Mustang...and that would make it hard for Ed to avoid him..

"Hey, you look smart, mind if I sit here?" Edward looked up from his desk to the guy that was standing near the desk that was right next to him. The guy was tall and skinny, though he seemed to be in shape. He looked like he could be a basketball player or something. He had blonde hair that was short in the back, but his bangs were choppy and sort of in his face. He had a toothpick in his mouth, and was patiently waiting for Edward's answer. Ed nodded, feeling a little intimidated by the guy who seemed to be older than him. "Great! I'm Jean Havoc, by the way. You must be new here, are you a freshman?"

Edward finally found his voice, "Uh, no, I'm a sophomore. I just moved here. I'm Edward Elric, but you can call me Ed," he said as Jean sat down in the desk beside him.

"Oh, cool. I'm a junior. I should have gotten my health credits done my sophomore year, but I guess I kind of slacked off. Hey, You're not the kid that Roy picked on this morning, are you?"

Edwards eyes widened at that. How did he even know about that?! There wasn't anyone else around and he only told Ling..."Uh, yeah, I suppose I am," he said. As soon as he said it, Jean laughed. Edward frowned. "What's so funny?" he asked.

"Oh, sorry, nothing. Roy was just talking about it in first period. He said that some short kid ran into him today, and he was already ticked as it was, so it just pissed him off even more. He gets a sick pleasure out of bullying helpless kids-"

"I'm not a kid, I'm not helpless, and damn it, I'm not short!" Edward grumbled, cutting Jean off.

"Hey, sorry, Kid, didn't know you were so sensitive. Anyway, you seem to be pretty cool. Maybe I could get him to leave you alone. Roy's one of my best buds," Jean said, smiling at Edward. Ed smiled back and thanked him. "No need to thank me, yet. Roy's not the best of listeners, even to his friends."

And just like that, Edward was worried again. If Roy really had it out for Edward, then there would be no stopping him. Oh god, why didn't he agree to be home-schooled? The bell rang, and class started. "Hello, I see that I have had a few of you in my class last year, but for those of you who to not know me, I am Shou Tucker, and I will be your Health teacher." Mr. Tucker began to hand out a beige colored paper to everyone. "This is the syllabus. We will go over it, and then spend the rest of the class getting to know each other."

Almost everyone in the class groaned at that. No one liked the stupid introductory games that some teacher made them do, but there was no way out of it. While Mr. Tucker was going over the syllabus, some of the students asked as many questions as possible, so that there would be less time to do the introductions. Mr. Tucker quickly caught on, though, and said that any questions could be asked after class.

"Now, time for introductions," he said, smiling eerily at the class. "I'll pick you at random, and when I do, I would like you to stand up, say your name, what grade you are in, and an interesting fact about yourself." No one wanted to do this. This was something you did in Elementary school, not High School. "How about you? Would you like to go first?"

Edward's heart dropped when Mr. Tucker looked at him expectantly. Every single student in the class turned to look at him. Ed was really tempted to ask if he really had to or not, but Mr. Tucker looked completely serious. Hesitantly, Edward stood up from his seat. Everyone was staring at him, damn it, why did he have to be first? "Um...I'm Edward and uh-"

"Edward what?" Mr. Tucker interrupted. Edward sighed.

"Elric. I'm Edward Elric, and-"

"Are you Mr. Elric's son?" a random student asked.

Edward frowned in confusion. "What?"

"Mr. Elric, the school counselor? I mean, you look just like him."

Edward's heart sank. He knew his dad was a counselor, but he didn't know he was a counselor at this school. He hadn't seen his father since he was little. "Uh...no. It must just be a coincidence... my father is dead." It was a lie, of course, but not really. Edward's father was dead to him. There was just one thing that he didn't understand...Why was Van Hoenheim using the last name Elric? Elric was Edward's mother's last name. Knowing that Hoenheim was using Trisha's last name made Edward angry, but he tried not to show it. "Anyway, My name is Edward Elric and I'm a sophomore," he said, sitting down.

"Ah, Mr. Elric, you forgot to say an interesting fact about yourself," Mr. Tucker said with a quirky half smile.

Edward sighed heavily. "Really? Like telling everyone that my father is dead isn't an interesting enough fact?" he snapped back.

"I'm afraid not." Mr. Tucker's voice was far too calm. For some reason, this irritated Edward more than Mr. Tucker forcing him to talk in front of everyone.

Edward glared at the teacher, but Mr. Tucker's smile never wavered. "Fine," he said. What should he say? He was in a health class, wasn't he? He supposed that he should tell them something health related. "I have a prosthetic arm and leg. That's why I wear gloves," he said. Everyone was going to find out one way or another, he might as well just get it out in the open.

"No you don't," one of the students said blatantly.

"Excuse me?"

"My uncle has a prosthetic arm and he can't bend his arm the way you can bend yours," the student said. "If you're gonna lie, at least make it believable."

With a sigh, Edward stood up again, and took off his red sweatshirt. A few students gasped, and others just looked in awe. "It's called automail. It's extremely experimental and not very well known. The woman I live with is a mechanic and she decided to specialize her skills to help out amputees. It's connected to my nerves, so it works like a regular limb would, it's just heavier." Edward put his sweatshirt back on and sat down, dead set on not saying another word until the end of class.

"Alright, then. Would you like to go next?"

"Seriously? How the hell am I supposed to follow that?" Jean said, causing the rest of the class to laugh a bit. He looked over at Edward and winked at him. Edward felt a blush coming on, so he hid his face from Jean. Why did there have to be so many good looking guys at this school?


	3. Chapter 3

When Health class was over, Edward had never been so relieved in his life. Sure, everyone else had to introduce themselves, but a few students kept staring at him, looking at his arm and glancing at his legs, wondering which leg was normal and which one was prosthetic. It really was hard to tell when he was wearing pants. As soon as the bell rang Edward grabbed his stuff and quickly left the classroom, not wanting to really talk to anyone. He had to stop by his locker to grab his Math book, and he hoped that Mustang wouldn't be anywhere around.

"Yo! Ed!" Edward heard just as he was opening his locker. He turned around to see Jean, pushing through the students and heading his way. "I wanted to talk to you after class but you ran out so quickly!"

Ed stared at Jean. He was a handsome guy, with a kind, goofy smile. What could he possibly want to talk to Edward about? "Uh, yeah, I just had to get away, I was kind of getting sick of everyone staring at me...what did you want to talk about?"

When Jean heard that Edward couldn't stand people staring at him, he got a little flustered. "Oh, right, yeah, of course you would get sick of that. I mean, there's really no reason to stare, you're just a regular guy...I guess you don't like people asking questions about it, huh?"

Ah. Jean wanted to talk about his automail. It was only natural. Not many people even knew it was possible, and it was kind of cool to someone who has never seen it before. Edward didn't think that it was really that cool, but then again, he had to feel the pain of it getting connected to his nerves and such. Jean seemed to be embarrassed to even ask the question, so Edward smiled at him reassuringly. "You can ask any questions you want. I get them all the time," he said, grabbing his math book out of his locker and shutting it. He had a few minutes before class started, and the Math room was just a few doors down from his locker. Besides, if Mustang showed up, he wouldn't try anything while Edward was with Jean, right?

Jean seemed relieved that Edward wasn't offended or upset or anything. "Oh, okay uh, I was just wondering...what happened? I mean, how did you lose your arm and leg?"

Edward blinked. He was not expecting that question. Most people ask "How does it work?" or "Is it like a robot or something?" No one has ever asked him what happened. He didn't even know if he wanted to answer this.

Jean noticed Edward's hesitation. "Hey, you don't have to tell me if it's too personal, I mean, we did just meet. It's cool," Jean said, starting to walk away.

"But-"

"See ya later, Ed." With a wave, Jean was gone. Edward sighed. It wasn't like he didn't want to tell Jean what happened, he just wasn't expecting that sort of question. No one ever really cared enough to ask. Plus, it wasn't like it was something that could just be explained in casual conversation in the hallway.

Edward's math class wasn't so bad. It had slightly less people than his other classes did, so he sat completely alone in the back of the class. Honestly, Edward was glad that he sat alone in math; that meant that he was able to focus more on the work instead of socializing, which was what the other students seemed to be far more interested in. He wouldn't be surprised if most of the kids in this class ended up failing because they weren't paying attention.

After math, Edward had to go to the class he was dreading-Gym. It wasn't that Edward didn't like physical activity, he actually loved it. He just didn't want to dress down. When he registered for school, they gave him Gym clothes, which consisted of a grey cotton t-shirt and red basketball shorts. Both had the school symbol on it, which was a circle with different triangles and things in it, with a little salamander at the bottom. That was their mascot, apparently, the salamander. Anyway, Edward didn't feel comfortable dressing down. He didn't know anyone that well, and he didn't want them all staring at him and his automail.

After stopping by his locker to put away his books and grab his gym clothes and shoes, Edward made his way to the Gym, and as soon as he walked in his heart sank and he felt sick to his stomach. "Well I'll be damned, the shrimp is in my gym class. How lucky am I?" Edward's pulse significantly increased. Why? Out of every possible class he could have with Roy Mustang, why did it have to be this one?

"Alright, class, before you get dressed down, I have a few things to say, so gather around," a firm, female voice said. "I am Olivier Armstrong, and I am your Gym teacher this year." Edward heard Mustang say something about her being hot to his friend, and apparently, Ms. Armstrong heard him as well. Her glare was like daggers. "I just want to make one thing clear. I may be a younger teacher, but I'm a hard-ass. Don't think you can get away with anything, or can goof off, because that will be unacceptable. This is a Gym class, you are here to get physically fit. Keep that in mind. You will be graded based on participation and hard work. Do not disappoint me." Ms. Armstrong scanned the students with her stern eyes. "Well? What are you waiting for? Go dress down!"

No one had to be told twice. As soon as she told them to, everyone headed for the locker room. When he registered, they not only assigned him a regular locker, but also a gym locker. At his old school, the lockers in the gym were only small enough to hold shoes and clothes, but the lockers here were the same size as the normal lockers. Edward found his locker easily, so he opened it and set his gym clothes in it while he took off his boots. No one else seemed to care much about undressing, but Edward was silently freaking out. "Well shit, I have to have a locker next to this fag? This is bullshit!" Edward looked up from his shoes and saw Roy without his shirt on, looking at him smugly. God damn it, why did he have to be so hot? A blush spread across Edward's face and he looked back down at his shoes, focusing on getting them untied. "Holy shit, you really are a fag, gross."

Edward ignored Roy the best he could, but being called a fag pissed him off almost as much as being called short. Ed put his boots in the locker and kept his head down as he took of his sweatshirt, shirt, and pants. "Holy shit! The little faggot is a fucking cyborg!" Roy mocked, laughing. "That's fucking ridiculous, dude. What the fuck?"

"If you must know, I lost my arm and leg in an accident. Just because I have better prosthetic limbs than other amputees doesn't make me a cyborg," Edward said, sounding tiffed. Roy narrowed his eyes at him, and Ed knew that he shouldn't have said anything at all. "Just...just leave me alone, okay?" Edward turned away from Roy and put on his gym clothes, and sat down to put on his sneakers.

"Yeah, like that's going to happen, twerp," Roy said, smacking Edward in the back of his head before laughing and leaving the dressing room. Seriously? How could other students sit back and watch another student get harassed for no reason at all? If Edward saw someone getting bullied like that, he would help them in a heartbeat. No one around here really seemed to care. Either that, or they just didn't want to get caught up in it and become Roy Mustang's next victim. Edward sighed heavily, finished tying his shoes, and headed back into the gym with everyone else.

Everyone stared at Edward as he walked to join them. All the students were in a circle around Ms. Armstrong, who also stared at Edward. She rose an eyebrow. "What the hell is this?" she asked.

"I have special prosthetic limbs," Edward explained, looking only at Ms. Armstrong.

The teacher looked at him for a moment, then said, "Are you physically able to do gym?"

"Yes."

"And you won't hurt others with your metal limbs?"

"I won't."

"Alright then. Let's get on with class. I wanted to start the year off with something fun. I assume you all know how to play dodge-ball?"

"Yes ma'am," the students said in unison.

"Good. I will count you off. One's go to the left side, two's go to the right. I'll set the balls on the center line. When I blow my whistle, you may begin." Ms. Armstrong started giving them numbers. Edward was a two. Roy Mustang was a one. Great. Just what he needed, Roy throwing stuff at him. Edward went to the right side of the right side of the room, while Roy went to the left. Ms. Armstrong set the red dodge-balls on the center line, stood back, and blew the whistle. Immediately, everyone ran for the balls as fast as they could, and just before Edward was about to grab one, Roy threw one directly at his head, hitting the side of his face hard. "Elric, you're out!" Ms. Armstrong called.

Edward quickly mad his way to the bench that was off to the side, holding his stinging face as he did so. "Isn't there some rule that says you're not supposed to hit people in the face?" Edward asked Ms. Armstrong as he sat down.

"If you're going to be a sissy, then I suggest you leave my class," she said, looking out at the game and calling another student out. Edward frowned slightly. That was when he knew for sure that there was no way he could go to a teacher for help with Roy's bullying. He would have to deal with it all on his own. Soon, a player on his team caught a ball, which meant that Edward was back in the game. Ed got a ball and managed to hit someone on the other team before Roy hit him again, hard, in the stomach. Ed made his way to the bench again, trying not to hurl. The next time he was able to get out there, he was going to make sure he didn't get hit again. Once one of the other players caught a ball, Edward quickly ran out to the court, grabbed a ball, and threw it at the other team. He his one player. Good. Someone threw a ball at him, and Edward caught it, causing that person to be out, an instant later, he threw the ball and hit another player. Then it happened. All of the balls were on the other side, and Edward was the last one on his team. Roy locked eyes with Edward and smirked. Oh god. Roy threw a ball at Ed, and he dodged it, but, Roy had another ball in his other hand, and he threw it directly at Edward as hard as he could. It hit him on the side of his face that hadn't been hit yet. Ed's eyes water slightly, and he put his hand on his face, knowing that he would probably have a black eye after this.

"Twos lose, ones win. Go get changed, class dismissed." Ms. Armstrong said, causing Roy and his team to cheer. Edward sighed and made his way to the locker room to get changed into his normal clothes. He was beginning to feel really vulnerable showing his automail so much.

"So, how's your face feeling, pipsqueak?" Roy asked mockingly as he approached Edward at his locker.

Ed sighed angrily. "I'm not a fucking pipsqueak! Why can't you just leave me alone?!" he said, completely done with Roy's shit.

"Not a pipsqueak, huh? If you weren't a pipsqueak, would I be able to to this?" At that, Roy picked Edward up from the collar of his shirt.

"Cut it out! Let me go!" Edward exclaimed, kicking at Roy to try and get him to let go.

"You know, I think you're small enough to fit in this locker," Roy said with an evil glint in his eye.

Edward's eyes widened. "No, Don't-!" but it was too late. Roy shoved Edward into his own locker and shut the door, locking him in. Edward banged on the locker door. "Let me out you bastard!" he yelled, his voice cracking slightly from panic. He didn't do well in closed spaces. "Come on, this isn't funny, let me out!"

"Sorry, squirt, I don't know your locker combination." Roy was laughing, and Edward could hear him leaving with his friends.

"No, No! Come on! SOMEONE LET ME OUT!" Edward was freaking out, he didn't want to be trapped in this locker. It was lunch hour, no one would be in here to help him. Oh god, what did he do to deserve this? Edward sat down in the locker, bringing his knees to his chest. He put his head on his knees and tried to focus on breathing properly; he didn't want to hyperventilate and pass out. Edward didn't know what to do, he was stuck there was nothing he really could do.

"Elric! Quit fucking around and get out of the locker room! I can't go to lunch until you leave, now beat it!"

Edward lifted his head and quickly stood up. "Ms. Armstrong! Help!" he yelled. Maybe he wouldn't be stuck after all.

"Help? What the hell would you need help for?" Ms. Armstrong said, sounding disgusted.

"I got shoved into a locker and now I'm locked in here, please for the love of god, help!" Edward didn't know if it was the distress in his voice, or if this happened more often than Olivier Armstrong would like to admit, but she rushed into the locker room and opened the locker as quickly as possible. Edward jumped out of the locker and took deep breaths. He was surprised that he didn't faint in the locker. "Th-thank you," he said between breaths.

"Who shoved you into the locker?" Ms. Armstrong asked, though Edward had a feeling that she already knew. Ed just shook his head. He couldn't tell her, if she did, then Roy would get even more pissed off at him and would probably kick his ass for getting him in trouble. Ms. Armstrong sighed at looked at him with pitiful eyes, which was strange, because she didn't seem to be the type of woman that pitied anyone. "If you don't want to tell me, then fine. If you're going to handle it on your own, then I don't want this to happen to you again. Now get changed and leave. Understood?"

"Yes Ma'am."

"Good." And with that, Ms. Armstrong left the locker room without looking back at him. Edward sighed, and got dressed quickly and left, calling out a thanks to Ms. Armstrong as he did.

* * *

**Hello! I would just like to thank you all for reading my little story here. I hope I'm doing an okay job. If you have any notes for me on how I can make this story better, please leave me a review! I want to make sure that this story is as good as it possibly can be. I'll try to update every day, but, life does tend to get in the way. The least I will update is twice a week. Anyway, Thanks again for reading and I would love to hear your reviews! **


	4. Chapter 4

**~Roy's POV~**

Roy Mustang felt terrible. Waking up in the morning was a chore; he hated everything. Groaning, Roy turned off his alarm clock and sat up in his bed. He didn't want to get up, he didn't want to go to school, hell, he didn't even want to be alive. Roy leaned over and clicked on the lamp that was resting on his desk, which was right next to his bed. The first thing he saw when the light illuminated the room was a framed picture that was on his desk. Seeing the picture caused his heart to ache even more than it already did.

Roy reached out and grabbed the picture of him and the love of his life. With his finger, he lightly traced a heart around the two and sighed. "Why did you have to leave me, Maes?" he muttered, his voice cracking slightly from emotion. A tear dropping on the glass of the frame made Roy realize that he was crying. "Damn it." Roy wiped his eyes and the picture frame before setting the picture back in it's designated spot on his desk.

Maes Hughes was Roy's boyfriend, and he killed himself last year.

Ever since then, Roy hasn't really known what to do with himself. He has been told to move on, but he didn't want to, he couldn't. It would be insulting to the memory of Maes if he just moved on, wouldn't it? He never talked about it either, which caused him to take out his rage and pain on poor, undeserving underclassmen at school. He's been forced to see the school counselor on several occasions, but he never actually talked about anything. How could he? What was he supposed to say? The only person he ever loved killed himself and it was all his fault? No, he couldn't tell anyone that, because they would try to tell him that it wasn't his fault, and it was. It so completely was; or at least that's what Roy has convinced himself.

Before Maes' suicide, Roy was with him romantically for about a year, and they had been friends for as long as he could remember. When they were together, everything was perfect, except for the fact that Maes wanted to keep it a secret. Roy didn't understand why Maes didn't want anyone to know about them, but, he respected his lover's wish and never told anyone for the whole year they were together...but on their anniversary, Roy couldn't take it anymore.

**_~Flashback~_**

_"Come on, Roy, don't be mad! Please!" Maes pleaded with his boyfriend after just refusing to hold his hand in public. "I held your hand all throughout the movie-"_

_"Yeah, Maes, through the movie, where it was dark, and no one can see," Roy huffed. "When we're alone, you're the sweetest guy in the universe, but when anyone else is around it's like I don't even matter. I just don't understand how you can be so different so easily..." Roy was okay with not telling anybody at first, but he couldn't even hold his boyfriend's hand on their anniversary, and that was the last straw. _

_Maes looked at Roy sadly. "Roy, you know I love you, I just...it's my parents, okay? They wouldn't be okay with it, hell, they would probably kick me out."_

_Roy frowned. "Well, move in with me. We can tell them tonight, together, then we will have nothing to hide! Come on, Maes, for me? It could be your anniversary present to me." Roy looked at Maes with big, puppy-dog eyes. _

_"Damn it! Why do you have to give me that look? Alright. We'll tell them." Roy grinned widely and pulled Maes into a tight hug, then kissed him. _

_"Thank you. I love you." _

_"I love you too." _

**_~End Flashback~_**

When Roy and Maes told Maes' parents about their relationship that night, it didn't go as well as Roy had hoped. Mr. and Mrs. Hughes completely freaked out, and said that Roy had turned their son into a faggot. They kicked Roy out of their house, and said that if he came back, they would call the police. Roy sent Maes an email, saying that after school the following day, Maes could just come to his house and live with him, until they could go somewhere else.

Maes never received that email. His parents took away everything, and the next morning, they forced him to go to some crazy Christian "Straight Camp" to "cure" him of his "sinful ways" or whatever. One week in that camp plus his family disowning him must have just been too much for Maes, and he hung himself.

When Roy found out, he completely broke down. He felt like he lost everything that meant anything to him. Roy tried to drown his pain in his father's alcohol, but ended up vomiting and passing out before he could drink enough to kill himself. Ever since then, Roy has be a complete asshole.

Roy finally got up from his bed and got ready before walking to the school. He normally would have eaten breakfast, but he just didn't feel up to it today. Roy wasn't expecting to get so depressed, but it was around the anniversary of Maes' death, so it was only to be expected. As he walked through the hallway to get to his locker, Roy wasn't paying much attention to anything, especially anything that was shorter than his eye level, and that's how he ran directly into another student. The contact really irked Roy, and he instantly snapped, "Hey, watch where you're going, twerp!" he spat, sounding a little angrier than he normally would.

Roy looked down at who had ran into him, and for a moment, he froze. The blonde boy sitting on the ground was gorgeous. He was stunned only for a moment though, because as soon as the thought of this kid being gorgeous came into his mind, Roy felt completely terrible for thinking it. _'He's not Maes, you can't think that way about him. You're betraying Maes, you can't think this way!' _he yelled at himself in his head. Roy was suddenly very angry with himself, and (unreasonably) angry with this kid. Who did he think he was? The kid started to apologize, but his voice was just as attractive as the rest of him, and Roy didn't want to hear it, "Whatever, are you lost or something, Shrimp?" Roy didn't want to be an asshole to this guy, but it was the only way. He couldn't be nice to another guy, he was nice to Maes and look what happened.

The blonde's face got red and he started to pick up his stuff. "N-no, I was just g-getting to c-class-" The way this boy was stumbling over his words reminded Roy of how nervous Maes had been on their first date, and how adorable he thought it was, and that hurt even more. Why did this kid have to bring up so many memories that were painful to think about?

"W-well I g-guess you b-better be off then, Loser," Roy mocked him, smacking the things the kid just collected out of his hands. God, what was wrong with him? He had to leave. Now. "Welcome to Central Academy, Pipsqueak," he said, and he started to leave. As he left, though, he accidentally kicked the book that the guy was going to pick up again. God damn it! He was even an unintentional asshole. Great.

"Yo! Roy! What's up, man?" Roy's friend, Jean, greeted as he walked into his first period class. Roy forced a smile and sat down in the seat next to him. "At least we know we have one class together this year, huh?"

"Yeah, cool," Roy said, trying to sound enthusiastic.

"What's up with you?" Jean asked, seeing through Roy's act. Jean was pretty good at telling whether Roy was really okay or not.

"Nothing, just didn't really want to even come to school today, then some stupid short blonde kid ran into me, so that just made my mood worse, I guess," he said, resting his head on his desk.

"Short blonde kid? What did you do to him?" Jean asked, knowing all to well that Roy wouldn't just walk away after someone ran into him.

"Yeah, he was wearing a red sweatshirt," _'and he was actually pretty attractive'_ Roy shook that thought away. He had to stop thinking like that, "and nothing, really. Just knocked his books out of his hands, called him a loser, nothing really all that harsh." Before Jean could say anything else, the bell rang and class started. Roy completely zoned out throughout the entire class, and through his next two classes as well.

The only class Roy really had any interest in participating in today was Gym, which is where he was now, making mild smalltalk with some guys that he supposed he called friends. They didn't know who he really was, though. He put on some fake mask for these people, pretending to be some macho guy that he really didn't want to be at all. When the door to the gym opened, Roy instinctively looked toward the noise, and when he did, his heart felt like it completely stopped. The kid that he picked on this morning was in his class. Why? Why did this have to happen to him? As people were walking in, the new Gym teacher was asking them their names to take role, but apparently this kid wasn't paying any attention. He stared at Roy like a scared rabbit or something. Another student told her that his name was Edward Elric. Oh god, was this kid related to the counselor? Fuck, Roy, what did you get yourself into?! Before he could stop himself, Roy said, "Well I'll be damned, the shrimp is in my gym class. How lucky am I?" Of course, Roy was being sarcastic. He wasn't lucky for this. At all. Well, so much for enjoying gym class.

The Gym teacher introduced herself, and Roy made an offhanded comment to one of his "friends" that she was pretty hot. Just because that was something a guy like him was supposed to say, right? She didn't seem to appreciate it, though, which was good. If she had been totally okay with it, Roy would have been expected to hit on the teacher or something, and that just would be bad. Ms. Armstrong told them to go dress down, and Roy slowly made his way into the locker room, taking his shirt off as soon as he got in the door. Upon finding his locker, Roy also found that his happened to be right next to Edward's. Great. "Well shit, I have to have a locker next to this fag? This is bullshit!" Roy almost physically cringed after using that word. That word was one of the reasons why the love of his life killed himself. Why did he say it? Why was he so angry with this guy he hardly knew at all?

Roy looked at Edward, expecting him to stick up for himself or something, but he didn't. Edward looked at Roy, running his eyes down his body, and he blushed. The kid fucking _blushed._ Could that mean that he really was gay? "Holy shit, you really are a fag, gross." What was wrong with him? Why was he being such an asshole? His "friends" laughed after seeing Roy bully this kid so much, and it almost made him feel better about it. For some reason, this guy deserved it. He had to. If he didn't, then why did Roy feel so angry towards him?

Roy couldn't stop himself from looking at Edward from the corner of his eye while the younger male undressed, especially when he saw that the kid had freaking metal limbs. What the fuck was that about? Was that a real fucking thing? Looking closer, Roy could see the scars around where the metal connected to flesh, and he didn't have a doubt that it was real. What happened to him? Roy actually felt concerned for a moment..._'Stop it, Roy! You can't be concerned for this guy! Screw him! He's nothing special!' _Roy didn't know why these thoughts had to go through his head, why he felt he needed to humiliate this guy, but he did, and he couldn't stop himself. "Holy shit! The little faggot is a fucking cyborg!" Roy said, laughing with his friends. "That's fucking ridiculous, dude. What the fuck?" That was Roy's horribly rude way of asking Edward what was up with his prosthetic limbs.

"If you must know, I lost my arm and leg in an accident. Just because I have better prosthetic limbs than other amputees doesn't make me a cyborg," Edward said. He sounded irritated. Roy narrowed his eyes in a glare, but he wasn't glaring at Edward, he was glaring at himself. Why did he have to be such a fucking asshole? "Just...just leave me alone, okay?" Roy was taken aback by that. No one has ever told him to leave them alone before. Roy actually felt bad for this kid. What did such an adorable guy do to deserve the cards he was dealt? Roy shook that thought away as he finished getting dressed. He didn't think he was going to be able to leave this kid alone. He was attracted to him, and he hated that he was attracted to him. It was like an instantaneous reaction, he saw the guy, he hated himself for being attracted to him, and, like a some sort of kid in second grade, he decided to show his attraction by being as rude as he possibly could. He couldn't help it.

"Yeah, like that's going to happen, twerp," Roy said, smacking Edward in the back of his head before leaving the dressing room. Really? That was so immature. This whole thing was immature, but, Roy hated himself for being attracted to another guy, a guy that wasn't Maes. And it was Edward's fault that he was so damn attractive, wasn't it?

Roy was relieved when he heard that they were going to be playing dodge-ball today, and even more relieved when Edward was on the opposite team that he was on. This would give him a chance to take out his aggression on Edward, and take it out he did, quite brutally, one may say. He wouldn't be surprised if Edward had bruises all over his face or a black eye after today. He was actually pretty shocked that he didn't get in trouble for throwing a ball at the kid's face, twice. Ms. Armstrong really was a hard-ass. When class was dismissed, Roy noticed that Edward hurried into the dressing room pretty fast. Shit, did he really hit him that hard? Concerned, but not wanting to give up his "bad ass bully" facade, Roy decided to ask Edward how his face was, sounding as rude as possible.

"So, how's your face feeling, pipsqueak?"

After he said that, he saw Edward get really mad. "I'm not a fucking pipsqueak! Why can't you just leave me alone?!" Geez. Roy didn't know someone could be so sensitive about their height.

It pissed Roy off that Edward would yell at him like that, even though he totally deserved it. He knew that nothing he felt or did was rational, but he couldn't stop himself. "Not a pipsqueak, huh? If you weren't a pipsqueak, would I be able to to this?" Roy easily picked Edward up from the collar of his shirt, even with his full metal limbs, Edward didn't weigh very much at all.

Immediately, Edward started thrashing and yelling at Roy to let him go, but Roy wouldn't just give in to what this kid wanted. "You know, I think you're small enough to fit in this locker," he said.

"No, don't-" Ed tried to protest, but Roy didn't listen. He shoved the smaller boy into the locker and slammed the door shut, locking him in. His friends laughed at Edward started to bang on the locker and freak out. "Let me out you bastard!" Edward yelled. Roy could hear the panic in his voice, and he instantly felt bad, but he couldn't just help out the guy after putting him in there. Not in front of everyone. What would that do to his reputation? "Come on, this isn't funny! Let me out!"

But Roy's friends were laughing, so he was laughing with them. "Sorry, squirt, I don't know your locker combination." Yeah, whatever makes you feel better, Roy. He left the locker room and the Gym with his friends after they dressed back in their normal clothes, and Roy couldn't help but feel terrible. Edward sounded truly distressed in there. What if the kid was claustrophobic? Maes was claustrophobic...

Roy stopped in his tracks at that. What would he do if someone had shoved Maes into a locker? Oh god, what has he done? He was almost to the cafeteria with his friends. "Roy, what's up?" One of his friends asked.

"Uh...I..." Maes once said that being in a tight enclosed space felt like drowning, and it was absolutely terrifying, like he was stuck, and no one would help him. "I forgot something at the gym. I'll catch up with you guys." Before they could ask anymore questions, Roy ran back to they gym as fast as he could. He burst through the doors and sprinted to the locker room. He could hear Ms. Armstrong yelling at him, but he didn't listen. "Edward!" called, going to the blonde's locker.

"Mustang! Get the hell out of here!" Ms. Armstrong growled, entering the locker room.

"Ms. Armstrong, I-"

"I know what you did, Mustang, I just let him out of the damned locker. I had a feeling it was you that shoved him in there, but he wouldn't admit it." Roy blinked. Edward didn't tell her who shoved him in the locker? "I don't know what the hell is wrong with you, but you seriously need to change who you are, kid, because you're a pretty shitty person! Now leave!"

Without another word, Roy left the gym, his mind muddled with thoughts. Why wouldn't Edward tell on him? Ms. Armstrong was right, he was a shitty person. What has he become? What would Maes think if he saw Roy acting this way? Roy felt like collapsing and completely breaking down, but he couldn't do that, not here. On the outside, everyone saw the calm, collected, cocky Roy Mustang they all had grown accustomed to, but on the inside, Roy was broken, and sobbing, and he was wishing that he would just die already.

* * *

**Oh, god. I hope this chapter wasn't as depressing to read as it was to write. I hope it kind of gives light to exactly why Roy is such a jerk to Edward. Things should get better from here, but who knows? Hope you are all enjoying this story, reviews would be lovely, just so I know that I'm doing alright. I always accept notes and constructive criticism. Thanks for reading! **


	5. Chapter 5

Surprisingly, the rest of Edward's day at Central Academy was fairly normal. He didn't have any more classes with Mustang, and he didn't run into him in the hallways or anything, so that was a relief. Edward managed to make it to the cafeteria to get some lunch, and he sat with Ling, just like they had planned. Ling was shocked to see Edward's already-bruising face and asked him what had happened. Ed explained everything that Mustang did, and Ling got angry, and told Ed that he should report Mustang to Principal Bradley.

Edward didn't want to report Roy, though. That was more trouble than it was worth. Throughout lunch, Edward picked at his food with one of the white plastic sporks that they gave out at the school. It was quite interesting. At Ed's old school, they gave out plastic forks, spoons, and knives, and all this school had were sporks. According to Ling, they used to have plastic knives, too, but one student stabbed another with one and that was the end of that. After lunch, Ed and Ling parted ways again, and Edward didn't see him for the rest of the day.

During his last class of the day, though, Edward did see someone else again. His last class was Art with Mr. Garfiel. It was definitely a nice way to end the day. This class had slightly larger desks than the others. Mr. Garfiel said that he paid for them himself, just so that his students would have more room to work on their art. Mr. Garfiel was definitely an...eccentric man, but he was very kind and Edward liked him.

He had just gotten settled in his desk in his usual spot, in the back, right next to the windows (Mr. Garfiel said that he had fought to have this room, since it had the largest windows and the best view, which was perfect for inspiring artists), when someone sat down at the desk next to him. "Hey, Ed, nice to see you again," Jean Havoc said, flashing Edward a charming grin.

Edward couldn't help but smile back. "Hey, Jean, I didn't know you liked art."

"Well, there's a lot you don't know about me, since we just met today," Jean said, smirking at Edward and winking, "but then again, I guess I don't really seem like the kind of guy that would like to draw and shit; everyone thinks I'm just a dumb basketball player." Jean chuckled slightly. "You totally do, though. I'm not surprised you're in this class at all. And you're left handed, so I bet you're a great artist. Don't they say lefties are more artistically inclined?"

Edward blushed. Jean noticed that he was left handed. No one noticed things like that about him, especially after only meeting him once. "Uh, I think I heard something about that, yeah," he said, looking away to hide his blush from Jean. "Hey, did you talk to Roy about leaving me alone? Because I haven't had any problems with him since after fourth period. In fact, I haven't even seen him..."

Jean furrowed his brow. "Uh, no. I haven't seen him since lunch. I was going to go up an talk to him, but he suddenly ran off, looking all panicked. I asked his friends what was up and he said he forgot something at the Gym, but it looked like he had everything with him..." Jean trailed off, thinking for a moment. "I don't know, he's weird."

_'Could he have being going back...for me?' _Edward thought to himself. "Yeah, sounds weird. I don't know why he would want to go back after what he did to me."

At that, Jean frowned. "What did he do to you? Am I going to have to kick his ass?"

Edward chuckled, "No, you don't have to kick his ass. He was just kind of a dick to me during gym is all. Made fun of my automail, called me a fag-"

"He called you a WHAT?!" Jean said outraged. "Bastard. He knows better than to use that word! Fucking hypocrite, I swear..."

Ed sighed, "Yeah, well, that's really not the worst of it all. We played dodge-ball, and I guess I was his main target. That's why my face is so messed up."

"He hit you in the face? What the hell?" Jean sounded truly angry about all of this.

"And then he shoved me in my locker and locked me in. If it wasn't for Ms. Armstrong I would have probably passed out from hyperventilation."

Jean sighed heavily. "I'll talk to him. He's been going through a lot this past year...I know it's not an excuse but really, he wasn't always like this."

"Alright, class! I'm Mr. Garfiel, and since it's the first day of school, I'm not going to make you all do anything too crazy! I just want to get a basic idea of your skills as of now. So for the rest of class, I want you to draw anything that is in this room the best you can, okay?" Mr. Garfiel said, ending Jean and Edward's conversation about Roy Mustang. Ed did wonder what kind of person Roy used to be, though, but he supposed he could always ask later. "I just want you to use a pencil on plain paper. Nothing too fancy. You may talk to the others around you, but don't be too loud, okay? Go! Create to your little heart's desire!"

Edward took out his notebook that he got for this class. It was larger than most, had plain, thick paper, and the pages were made so they could be torn out easily. Perfect for art class. "So, um, Ed, I'm sorry for asking about your limbs earlier...it really was none of my business and it must be hard to talk about..." Jean said, getting out some paper and a pencil.

Edward looked at Jean. He had such nice features. He had bright blue eyes, smooth-looking skin, and Edward was quite fond of his facial structure. Jean had the most charming smile Ed has ever seen. Well, Mr. Garfiel did say that they could draw anything in the room, and Jean was in the room, wasn't he? "Don't be sorry, you were just curious.." he said, drawing a few curved lines on his paper, making the basic outline of Jean's head. "It is hard to talk about, but I think someday I'll be able to, with someone I trust." Edward looked up from his paper to look back at Jean, and smiled at him. Jean smiled back.

"So, what did you decide to draw? I think I'm going to draw that cat statue that Mr. Garfiel has on his desk. It's definitely odd, but hey, cats are great," Jean laughed a bit, and started to draw.

"You'll see when I'm done. I don't like to tell before I'm finished." Edward said as he began to work on Jean's smile in the picture. He wanted to get it right while Jean was still smiling.

As Ed and Jean drew their pictures, they got to know each other better. Edward told Jean about his little brother, Alphonse, and his friend Winry. He also explained that he lived with Winry and her grandmother, because Edward's mother died and his father left a long time ago, and he heard that he was dead. Of course, that last part was a lie, but he really didn't want anyone to know that the school counselor was his father. Jean told Edward that he lived alone, basically. He was an only child and his mother and father were always gone on business trips and vacations. Jean said he didn't mind, though, because he didn't get along with his parents very well.

Edward quite enjoyed talking to Jean. He was interesting and had a great sense of humor, and he was really nice to Edward. He's never met anyone like him. By the time the class was coming to a close, Edward was almost completely finished with his drawing of Jean, he was just adding in shading and extra detail to his hair and eyelashes and such. "Class is almost over. Can I see your picture now? You've already seen mine." Jean finished his drawing of the cat statue about ten minutes ago, and Edward has praised him and told him that it was very good, and he wasn't lying, Jean did have some skill.

Ed signed his name and put the date at the bottom of the paper before carefully ripping it out of his notebook. "Alright, but, don't laugh at me, okay?" Edward said, hesitantly handing Jean his drawing.

Jean's eyes widened slightly when he looked at the picture. "Edward...wow! I'm speechless! This is..." Jean moved so quickly, and Edward wasn't expecting it at all, but suddenly, Jean was hugging him. "This is amazing," he said before pulling away and sitting back down in his seat.

A blush spread across Edward's nose and cheeks. "It really isn't that amazing..." he muttered, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

"Don't sell yourself short, Edo. I mean, this drawing looks just like me, hell, it looks better than me...is this really how you see me?" Jean said, handing the paper back to Edward.

Edward's blush was obvious. There was no hiding it. "I-" before Edward could answer Jean, the bell rang, signalling the end of the school day.

"Oh! Please hand in your drawing as you leave! don't forget to put your name on it! Class dismissed!" Mr. Garfiel said.

"I got to go," Edward blurted, quickly gathering his things and leaving the room, handing his drawing to Mr. Garfiel as he passed him. Edward's face was hot, and his heart was beating hard in his chest. What was he doing? He couldn't like Jean in this way! Jean was probably one of those overly-straight athletic guys. He did mention that he played basketball... If he found out that Edward was gay, he probably wouldn't want to be his friend anymore, which would suck. Besides Ling, Jean has been the only person that's been really nice to him today, and he didn't want to mess that up just because he thought the guy was cute.

Edward was so mad at himself, and his hormones. First he thought that Roy Mustang was attractive, even though the guy was a total asshole to him, and now he had to develop a stupid little crush on Jean, who probably could never feel the same about him? Why did he have to do this to himself? Why did he have to be attracted to guys? Edward made it to his locker and he put away all his things. He didn't have any homework tonight, so he didn't have to carry all his stuff with him home. Ed shut his locker and left the school, and headed home, not looking forward to explaining his bruised face to Al and Winry.

* * *

**I'm sorry this part is so short. I'll try to make the next one longer. Thanks to everyone that has given me reviews and has followed this story and put it on their favorites list. It makes me so happy to know that you guys like my story so far. Don't hesitate to tell me what I need to do to make this story better writing-wise, and I'm always willing to hear suggestions, because it really does help me out a lot! Thanks again! 3**


	6. Chapter 6

**~Jean's POV~**

Jean couldn't stop thinking about Edward. That picture that Ed drew was exquisite; it had totally caught him off guard, but he was really flattered. Why would Edward want to draw him, out of all the weird nicknacks and things that Mr. Garfiel had in his classroom? Ed was just...special. And sweet...and so far, he seemed pretty amazing. Why would anyone want to bully someone like him?

That was something that was bothering him. Why the hell would Roy do those horrible things to Edward? Yeah, Roy had his issues, but it just wasn't right to be such an asshole to someone who didn't deserve it at all. Just thinking about the fact that Roy was the cause of Edward's bruised face actually pissed Jean off, and he wasn't going to let him do it again.

Without really thinking about it much, Jean started heading in the direction of Roy's house, which was about two miles away from his house. He was going to regret this later, when he had to walk home, but at this point, he didn't care. He was angry with his friend, and he was going to give him a piece of his mind.

He soon reached the the home of the Mustang family, and was glad to see no cars in the driveway. That meant that Roy was home alone, if he was home, that is. Jean made a beeline to the front door, and as soon as he got there he banged on the brand new mahogany-Roy's mother always changed little parts of the house like that. "Mustang, get your ass out here!" Jean growled as he continuously banged on the door with his fist.

After the five-hundred-something knock, the door finally opened. "Havoc? What are you doing-"

Jean didn't let Roy finish his question, he didn't even look at him, he just pushed himself into Roy's house and started ranting. "I don't know what the heck is wrong with you, Roy, but you seriously got to stop!" Jean began to pace in Roy's living room. "I know you've been kind of fucked since Hughes died, but dude, you need to get over that shit, I've had a lot of friends kill themselves and it's just something that-" Jean stopped in his tracks and started at Mustang, finally getting a good look at him. "Are you crying?"

"No! Shut up!" Mustang said defensively, but there was no doubt about it; Roy had streams of tears running down his face, and his expression was crumpled up into something that definitely resembled pain, and he would occasionally take in hitched breaths. Jean has never seen Roy look so vulnerable before. It was odd. "You shut up about Maes! You don't know what you're talking about, Havoc!" Roy sounded like he wanted to be angry, but his true emotions got the better of him, and it all came out in pitiful, broken sobs.

"A-are you okay?" Jean asked, suddenly more concerned for his friend than he was angry at him.

"Yes, I'm fine," Roy said, but then his eyes just seemed...dead. "No, I'm not." Roy seemed completely defeated. He slumped down on his couch and put his face into his hands, sobbing.

"Jesus, Roy, it's okay! I know it's hard, but Hughes died a year ago, it's time to move on." Jean put a hand on Roy's shoulder, but Roy looked up from his hands and gave Jean a look so deadly it almost made him physically wince.

"Shut the fuck up, Havoc! I told you, you don't know what you're talking about!" Roy snapped, but then the anger died out, and he was depressed again. He put his face back in his hands and continued to sob. "I loved him, Jean! I fucking loved him and he just left me!"

Jean's heart broke hearing Roy's confession. He always thought that the two were closer than just friends, but they never confirmed it, so Jean never said anything. "Oh, Roy. I'm so sorry."

"You can't be sorry. Because you don't know. You had nothing to do with it. It me that should be sorry. It's my fault that he's gone! If I wasn't so selfish, he would still be here, with me." Roy didn't want to tell Jean this, but once he started, he couldn't stop. It was like a floodgate had opened, and all the thoughts and emotions that he had been holding back and keeping bottled up just rushed to the surface, and he couldn't stop them from overflowing his whole being. "He killed himself and it's all my fault, Jean!"

Jean took Roy into his arms and rubbed his back soothingly. He didn't know what else to do. At first, Roy was reluctant, but then he just gave up. He loosely wrapped his arms around Jean and buried his face in the crook of Jean's neck. For a moment, he pretended that Jean was Maes. "Shh, it's okay, Roy," he said calmly into Roy's ear. "It's not you're fault, man. These things happen."

"It is my fault!" Roy cried, "He didn't want to tell his parents! I practically made him! If I could have just dealt with us being a secret, he would have never been sent to that awful place! And he would still be here, and I wouldn't be so god damn broken." Jean has never heard Roy talk like this before, and it was depressing. Has he been holding all this in for the past year?

"Roy, Hughes wouldn't have even considered telling his parents if he didn't really want to. He loved you, and probably wanted to show you off to the world, you know how he was." Roy chuckled slightly at that. "If his parents weren't such intolerant assholes, why, he would have had a thousand pictures of you in his wallet, and he would have been proudly showing you off to anyone and everyone he could, any chance he could get. He is proud things like that. Remember when he knocked up that Gracia chick? All he could do was throw around ultra sound pictures and later baby pictures, shouting 'look at this thing! I helped make this thing! She's mine!'"

Roy had completely forgotten about Maes' daughter, Elicia. Gracia and Maes never had an actual relationship, since Gracia was a good ten years older that Maes. They met at a party, had drunken sex, and that's how Elicia came to be. Maes got to see his daughter whenever he wanted, but Gracia was pretty much dead set on raising the child herself, so Maes never had any real responsibilities with her, but that didn't stop him from being the proudest father on the face of the universe. Roy would have to go and pay that little girl a visit sometime...he was the girl's godfather, after all. Maes insisted, and Gracia agreed, surprisingly.

Roy looked up into Jean's blue eyes, and desperately wished they were Maes' green ones. "I miss him so much, Jean. How am I supposed to live without him? He was my everything...I'm useless without him." Every day was just so depressing. There was no sunshine without Maes, only rain. "Jean...I'm a terrible person."

Jean frowned. Roy has always been the kind of guy that was cocky and overly-confident. This was the first time he's ever heard Roy say that he was anything less that amazing. "The only thing that makes you terrible is how much you are bullying innocent students like Edward Elric." What was that expression that Roy had on his face? Was that pain? Regret?

"I know," Roy mumbled. "I know, I know. I had to be mean to him, though, Jean!"

Jean raised a brow, "I don't understand your logic with that one," he said. Why in the hell would he have to be mean to anyone? Especially someone like Edward.

Roy didn't want to explain, but why hold back now? Everything was out in the open, might as well continue with this streak of honesty. "He was just so...gorgeous, Jean. That kid is special somehow. He actually made my heart skip a beat when I saw him. But...even if that kid was gay, even if he could care about someone like me, I would just ruin his life, like I ruined Maes'. And If I was happy with him...then I would forget about Maes. I can't forget about him. I won't. I owe him that much."

Jean didn't know what he thought Roy would have said, but he definitely wasn't expecting that to come out of his mouth. Roy picked on Edward because he was attracted to him? What the fuck kind of second grade shit was that? But then there was the part about Maes. The part that made Jean want to hold Roy and tell him everything was okay. "Roy, Maes wouldn't want you to torture yourself like this. He would want you to be happy. Don't let his memory haunt you, Roy. Let it fill you with good feelings. You can move on and still have him in your heart."

Roy looked at Jean for a moment. "You really think he would want me to move on?" he asked.

"Yes, Roy. If he saw you like this, it would break his heart. He would never want you to be unhappy. If he can't be here to love you, then he would want you to find someone that will love you just as much as him..." Jean sighed. "And...Ed's a pretty great guy. I can't say for sure that he's gay, but I get that vibe from him. If it feels right, Roy, then don't fight it. Be nice to Edward. Explain to him why you did the things you did. If he's the person I think he is, he will understand, and maybe even give you a chance." Secretly, Jean hoped that Edward wouldn't give Roy a chance. Jean had feelings for Edward, good ones. He was just special. The way Ed drew that picture of him...it was beautiful. Unfortunately, Roy Mustang had a way of getting the things he wants, and, for some reason, it's usually always the same thing Jean wants. But, Jean was a good friend. If there was a change that Roy could find happiness and forgiveness for himself through Edward, then Jean was going to step back and let him have that chance.

Roy let out a long, shaky breath. "You're such a good friend, Jean," he said, but then he groaned. "God, I was such a dick to him. He probably hates me. Hell, I would hate me. I already hate me. I'm such an ugly person."

Jean just smiled, and pat his friend on the back. "Apologize to Edward. Be his friend, get to know him a bit, then ask him to draw a picture of you...once you see yourself how he will see you, you won't think that you're an ugly person. You'll see the beauty he sees." Without explaining himself further, Jean stood up and left Roy's house. He didn't want to be in competition with his friend, but then again, he really didn't want Roy to swoop in and take Edward away from him. Jean sighed and started off in the direction of his house, his mind full of thoughts of Edward.

**~Edward's POV~**

"How was your first day of school, Brother?" Alphonse asked as he ran outside to meet with his older brother. He gasped a little when he got a good look at him. "What happened to your face!"

Edward sighed as Al poked and prodded at his face "Al cut it out!" he said, smacking Al's hand away from his face. "We played dodge-ball today in gym. I accidentally got hit in the face. It's not a big deal, Al." Edward didn't like lying to his brother, but there really would be no point to telling him the truth. It would just make Al worry about something that he couldn't do anything about.

"Oh...well, besides that, how was your day? Did you make any friends?" Al knew how hard it was for Edward to leave all his friends in Resembool, so he hoped that this place could be good for Ed, too.

"Yeah, I made a couple. Ling and Jean. They're pretty cool, especially Jean," Edward almost blushed just thinking about him. "So my day wasn't bad. How's home schooling? What's Winry up to?" Ed wondered why Winry didn't run out to greet him along with Alphonse.

"Home school is great, Brother! I mean, I do miss the social aspect of private school, but I'm much more focused on my lessons!" Alphonse was a book nerd. He read anything he could get his hands on. "And Winry is with Granny, she's getting really serious about learning to be an automail mechanic." Winry's parents were doctors, and Winry inherited their passion for helping people, and after seeing how much automail changed Edward's life, she dedicated her life to learning how to build automail, so she could help other amputees in need.

"Well, cool. I'm glad you like home school. And Winry taking something serious isn't exactly a shocker," Edward said, chuckling.

Alphonse laughed, too. "Yeah, you're right." Winry took everything seriously, if she said that she would do something, she would do it faster than anyone would expect. She's very determined when she puts her mind to it. "Anyway, I made some sandwiches, if you're hungry, Brother."

Edward looked at his little brother's smiling face and wide, happy eyes, and he couldn't help but smile back. Ed would probably hate life if it weren't for Alphonse. Al was the most positive thing in his life, and if Edward didn't have his little brother, he probably wouldn't be alive today. "Yeah, I'm starving! A sandwich sounds great, Al!" Ed said, making his way inside the house, grinning.

Edward definitely hoped that not every day at his new school will be like this one, but if every day were to be this shitty, at least he had a wonderful brother to go home to. If things didn't get better after a week or so, then Edward would just have to drop out and be home schooled like Al and Winry. He just hoped it wouldn't have to come to that...


End file.
